Australia Invents 'Bionic Eye' to Restore Failing Vision

A prototype 'bionic eye' designed to restore sight of people with failing vision was unveiled in Australia Tuesday. The Australian government-funded project aims to do a human implant of the device by 2013.

A new technology that will lead to the restoration of an impaired human vision was unveiled by Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Tuesday. The project, which is being funded by the Australian government with the initial commitment of $35 million, aims to make a human implant of the device possible by 2013.

The Australian Prime Minister said the device could be “one of the most important medical advances we see in our lifetime.”

“The bionic eye project will keep Australia at the forefront of bionic research and commercialization and has the potential to restore sight to thousands of people in Australia and across the world,” he said.

The device, part of which is surgically implanted in the eye, is designed for patients suffering from degenerative vision loss caused by the genetic condition retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration.

It consists of a miniature camera, mounted on glasses, that captures images and sends them to a processor the wearer keeps in their pocket.

The processor then transmits a signal wirelessly to a unit implanted in the eye, which will directly stimulate surviving neurons in the retina, signaling an image to the brain.